Arsenal U18s started their Premier League Cup campaign with a resounding 4-0 win over Peterborough United at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
Forward Ceadach O’Neill continued his fine start to the season by netting a brace in the fixture. He has now netted five goals since the start of the campaign.
Arsenal started the game on the front foot and took the lead inside five minutes with their first attack of the game. Josiah King made an explosive run on the front right wing to set up Alex Marciniak for the goal.
Ten minutes later, the young Gunners almost doubled their lead when Brando Bailey-Joseph combined well with a one-two, but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Ben Westcott.
The best chance for Adam Birchall’s side to extend their advantage before halftime fell to Kyran Thompson, who beat two defenders before firing his attempt wide of the post.
Arsenal continued to dominate after the restart, with O’Neill hitting the post with a header inside 30 seconds into the second half, and also had another effort cleared off the line.
Four minutes before the hour mark, the 17-year-old scored his first goal, latching onto a pass from Bailey-Joseph to strike the ball past Westcott.
Shortly after, O’Neill netted his second of the game, putting the ball home after receiving a perfect through ball from Thompson.
Bailey-Joseph completed the scoring on 83 minutes with a tap-in to ensure Arsenal’s strong start to the Premier League Cup campaign.
The victory put the young Gunners atop Group A, with Norwich City, who beat Stoke City 2-1, sitting in second.
Their next fixture in the competition is against Stoke City on October 4, but they have four U18 Premier League fixtures to play before then, starting with this weekend’s clash at Birmingham City